Africa Books

Dogs of Africa documents the different breeds of dogs indigenous to Africa and the Middle East in an exhaustive and comprehensive study, where each breed is described in detail, from it's the history of breeding and it's physical and behavioural attributes in a way that only a dog lover could describe.

Illustrated with many beautiful black and white photographs.
Includes Pariah dogs, the Basenji, , the Israeli Canaan Dog, the Zulu Sicha, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, the Pharaoh Hound, the Boerboel, the Azawakh and Sloughi.
The history behind the breeds and the history of their breeding and origins are fascinating and describe much history of different parts of Africa and remarkable peoples such as the Zulu, Khoisan, Afrikaner and Israeli Jews, of which some of these breeds have been tied up with.
Learn of the loyal, gentle and protective nature of Boerboels, bred by the Trekboers in the 19th century, how when the Jews returned to the Land of Israel after two thousand years, their faithful old friend the Canaan Dog was waiting for them, and the ancient history of the Pharaoh Hound.
Find out about the good care taken by the San of their dogs and how on the other hand Muslims regard dogs as little better than filth, and for whom cruelty to animals is a way of life, and how this Islamic influence led to a drop in regard for dogs and a culture of cruelty in Southern Africa.

I really enjoyed this book. It is very interesting and well written. Lots of pictures.

Dogs Of Africa is an in-depth, 366-page encyclopedic study of those canine breeds that originated on the African continent. From pariahs, hounds, and southern African dogs, to sighthounds, mastiffs, and small pet dogs such as the Maltese Poodle, exhaustive and extensive descriptions are combined with black-and-white photographs, histories of the breed origins and their uses, and a wealth of information both practical and trivial, distinguish this unique and specialized guide which is especially recommended for dedicated dog breeders in general, and African canine enthusiasts in particular.

Julio T. Leitao founded an African dance troupe for children, and Patricia A. Keeler observed African dancers for weeks; together they wrote Drumbeat in our Feet, a picturebook meant to convey the richness of African dance culture to young readers. Drumbeat in our Feet is not a storybook per se, but rather an informational survey of the history of African dance tradition. From costumes and body painting associated with dance, to dances that honor spirits and ancestors, to types of musical instruments used, call-and-response songs, and much more, Drumbeat in our Feet surveys all aspects of African dance. Keeler's exuberant color illustrations bring to life the excitement of African dance in this wonderful, informative, and highly recommended picturebook.

An infectious energy fills the pages of this book from cover to cover. Even the endpapers make me want to get up and dance around the room! Ms. Keeler and Mr. Leitao have created a fun and fascinating book on African Dance, beautifully written and so visually energetic that you can feel the drumbeats on each page. Sepia-toned African scenes blend into colorful urban settings, building to a grand finale final spread, brilliant with color and movement. "Once you learn how to do African dance," says one young dancer, "you'll never stop dancing!" What a nice thought to end this book... I, for one, am convinced!

Jump up and dance with this powerful book about children's African dance! In Keeler's magical African world, children leap and spin across the pages representing wind, water, and fire! Their arms spreading and backbones curving, dancers represent elephants, monkeys and antelopes!

Did you know each white dot on a child's arm stands for a dancer that came before her? And the zig-zag design painted on the children's bellies represents crocodile teeth? Many African secrets are revealed!

Feel the rhythm, African rhythm. Feel the beat, African beat! Don't miss this one!"

As a professional Wildlife Artist, my field includes painting, sculpture, and taxidermy.

This makes all of the "East African Mammals" series of books by Jonathan Kingdon an absolute necessity. The text gives a wonderful insight into the natural history as well as the historical ancestry of the majority of East Africa's wild children.

But even more, it is Mr. Kingdon's exquisite pencil renderings of the individual species as well as the structure of their musculature, that make these books so special.

These musulature drawings, in turn, are further enhanced by deeper dissection-like illustrations revealing the deeper muscle structures responsible for much of the movement and support for the mammal in question.

This volume takes us through the largest of the antelope on the African continent - the Eland, both Giant and Common, the Sable antelope, and both Kudu, Greater and Lesser - as well as the vast selection of East Africas' smallest antelope species. The Duikers, and Klipspringer, among others, are handled in all their delicate detail. Besides photos of these little antelope, these illustrations are absolutely needed in order to produce accurate renderings. I cannot stress enough, the importance of the anatomy that is revealed within these pages.

The books in this series are therefore especially indispensable to the Wildlife Restorer (taxidermist) as a guide to anatomy that we rarely get to see "in-the-flesh" as it were.

I can, therefore, wholeheartedly recommend this series of books to anyone who cares enough about their chosen field of art, to pursue all ends to collect as much reference material as possible.

These books are an excellent addition to the wildlife artists' library.

This is an excellent resource tool for anyone with a serious interest in African insectivores and or bats. The author provides detailed information, not found in most texts. The drawings are wonderful.

As a professional Wildlife Artist, my field includes painting, sculpture, and taxidermy.

This makes all of the "East African Mammals" series of books by Jonathan Kingdon an absolute necessity. The text gives a wonderful insight into the natural history as well as the historical ancestry of the majority of East Africa's wild children.

But even more, it is Mr. Kingdon's exquisite pencil renderings of the individual species as well as the structure of their musculature, that make these books so special.

These, in turn, are further enhanced by deeper dissection-like illustrations revealing deeper muscle structures responsible for much of the movement and support for the mammal in question. These types of drawings are especially fascinating in the Large Mammals volume, wherein the trunk of the elephant and the mouth structure of the hippopotamus are visually dissected to provide a greater insight into these structures, and their performance in the animal.

The books in this series are therefore especially indispensable to the Wildlife Restorer (taxidermist) as a guide to anatomy that we rarely get to see "in-the-flesh" as it were.

I can, therefore, wholeheartedly recommend this series of books to anyone who cares enough about their chosen field of art, to pursue all ends to collect as much reference material as possible.

These books are an excellent addition to the wildlife artists' library.

This beautiful volume of elegant photography can be viewed on several levels; a book of art, a fresh exploration into a society that continues to amaze, or - importantly - a tribute to perhaps the cornerstone to the cradle of civilization. A fantastic book which will need a coffee table of its own for years to come.

BEAUTIFULL , Simple , Fine work.

Thank You your works Herve Champollion

I, being an avid Egyptophile, own dozens of illustrated volumes on the subject of Egyptian art and architecture. But this book, Egypt, Stones of Light, is truly the best among them. Never before has the sublime and elegant stone of Egypt been displayed in such a gorgeous format, in their natural light. Diane Sarofim Harle's scholarly captions are very insightful and accurate, and compliment the images greatly. Everything about this book, the captions, the elegant photography, the accompanying text and descriptions, even the index, is done with great care and perfection. I cannot think of one negative comment that could possibly made about this wonderful volume. I particularly like how the photographer, Herve Champollion, tends to zoom in to charming and breathtaking details of the statues and reliefs, rather than taking generic photos of the whole work of art as most photographers do. Also the photographs showing the symbology of the columns and statues are quite exquisite. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys beautiful ancient art and astounding architecture. Bravo! Flipping through the dark, glossy pages of this volume, one can easily get lost, dreaming of Egypt.

Great service from the seller. African version of the Christmas Story. An africian-american coworker initially was offended by what she thought was a "white" attempt to make the story sound "black". When she read the introduction and realized the history and research that went into this story she recognized it as part of her "roots" that she was excited to pass on to her own children.

I first purchased this book 14 years ago for my nephew, and I'm back to purchase it for my daughter. It is such a gorgeously written version of the birth of Christ. It's just so lovely and heartfelt. I can't say enough good things about it. It became part of my sister's Christmas tradition with her children, and now it will become part of mine. I'm so glad I found this book again!

I grew up hearing this book (written by my great-grandfather) every christmas morning. It has become a tradition, all of the kids sitting at the feet of our mother as she read the story, her voice flowing over the melody of the words. Often we wouldn't understand a phrase, but she would explain it how her mother had explained it and how the author himself had lovingly explained it to his daughter, my grandmother. Not everyone who has read this book will have the experience I have had in reading it, but all the same, it touches the heart of everyone who has heard it read.

Professor Lewis R. Gordon (Temple University) has outdone himself in this groundbreaking introduction to Africana existential thought! In addition to a breakthrough in Africana studies, Fanonian and DuBoisian students and scholars alike will appreciate the fruit of Gordon's labor. I would highly recommend anything written by Gordon; his style and method are very endearing to the reader.

If you are at the least familiar with Prof. Gordon's work, then you should need no prompting in purchasing this text. If not, then I wholeheartedly recommened "Existentia Africana" for anyone with an interest in race theorizing along existential lines. Gordon draws influences from such existential theorists as Frantz Fanon, W.E.B. DuBois, Jean-Paul Sartre, and bell hooks to paint a very coherent and useful picture of modern Africana existential thought. Buy it, and read it, you won't be dissappointed.

Sylvia Wynter has said that it is the challenge of the writer to create new "forms of life." Lewis R. Gordon has done just that with "Existentia Africana." With chapters such as "Can Men Worship?", "'What Does It Mean to be a Problem'?", and one of the most moving sections, "Writing: Words and Incantation", Gordon pours out his soul in trying to explain to the reader why in the year 2000 black people in Africa and the African Diaspora are still regarded as problem people. The author is a writer, philosopher par excellance, a jazz musician, a product of both Jamaica and black America, the academy and the realm of grassroots political activity. Discussing persons such as Frantz Fanon to Angela Davis to Jean-Paul Sartre to W.E.B.Du Bois to Naomi Zack to Josiah Young to Abbey Lincoln and to others, Gordon's words and incantation force the reader to confront the meaning of black existence from Jamaica to the United States to the UK to Africa to aboriginal Australia. Gordon differentiates between the European movement of thought "Existentialism", versus what he terms a "Philosophy of Existence/Existential Philosophy." A Philosophy of Existence addresses issues of freedom, anguish, dread, and responsibility in a way that does not limit discourse to European thought and thikers such as Sartre, Heidegger, Jaspers, and Simone de Beauvoir. Dear reader, please read on if you are willing to confront these serious and pressing issues of our times.

I find this book useful for numerous reasons but due to limited space, I will enumerate a few.

Africa and the developing world have been ignored by researchers and scholars, despite their wealth of resources. Exporting Communication Technology provides a detailed and well-thought out account of how social, cultural, economic, and educational factors account for the well being of communication activity in Africa.

The book also describes with clarity market dynamics and the expectations of policymakers, foreign aid donors and local entrepreneurs in managing social, cultural, and economic forces and in promoting development on the continent.

I like the author's ability to blend market/basic economic theories with his own ecclectic representation of communication theories.

I would recommend the book to a friend, book committee in a university, task managers in non-profit organizations, and especially, a policymakers in local and foreign governmental agencies that assist developing countries in realizing their long term needs

There is a resurgence of research on Africa, following a number of global events. As the author of this book rightly suggests, the "release of Nelson Mandela from prison and his eventual rise to power and the scramble for new markets in Third World countries" (pp. 1-2)are responsible for the global new interest.

Nothing has been more timely to Africa's economic emancipation than the bunch of constructive ideas propounded by Dr. Ngwainmbi.

That he uses communication, specifically information technology, as a model to describe Africa's educational-political-economic futures is rife, since effective communication itself has been lacking among African policy makers and even the fast-growing middle-class.

Among numerous logically sound prognostics, he stipulates that "parastatal agencies and regional services operating beyond national boundaries will increase business opportunities for the private sector with national and international shareholders competing to provide efficient services" (p.3)

Already, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and a number of international telecommunication agencies have been cooperating with many newly privatised national telecommunication cooperations to provide cyber information access and other services to the African population.

The timeliness of Dr. Ngwainmbi's book is infact a blessing to Africa's economy in general and to young entrepreneurs and telecommunication policymakers in particular.

As a Canadian interested in the development of Third World economies, I have found this book very useful. I think internet service providers, telephone equipment companies, and other providers of information electronics in the Western Hemisphere have to read this book, if they want to secure Third World markets for their products and services.

I find this book useful for numerous reasons but due to limited space, I will enumerate a few.

Africa and the developing world have been ignored by researchers and scholars, despite their wealth of resources. Exporting Communication Technology provides a detailed and well-thought out account of how social, cultural, economic, and educational factors account for the well being of communication activity in Africa.

The book also describes with clarity market dynamics and the expectations of policymakers, foreign aid donors and local entrepreneurs in managing social, cultural, and economic forces and in promoting development on the continent.

I like the author's ability to blend market/basic economic theories with his own ecclectic representation of communication theories.

I would recommend the book to a friend, book committee in a university, task managers in non-profit organizations, and especially, a policymakers in local and foreign governmental agencies that assist developing countries in realizing their long term needs

Eye of the Wolf is a very interesting book. It told lots of different stories which ended up coming together in the end. I liked how the boy closed one of his eyes to make the wolf not feel sad. I also like how the boy could talk to animals and had relationships with all different kinds of animals from camels to wolves and cheetahs. The wolf's story was sad but ended up happy at the end. He lost his family in the wild and then lost his zoo family, too. But the boy became his friend and helped the wolf feel better. I recommend this book for everyone!! (The illustrations in the book are terrific and capture what is going on in the story!)

I read the book in other language, i.e. Korean, and with other
illustration. However, this is a really beautiful story whatever language it is written in. There is an wolf who has been captured by men and put into a zoo. When he was caught, his one eye was injured, but he didn't mind because he decided that one eye is sufficient to see the sad, miserable world of men-to his eye, men are as sad and miserable as the captured animals in the zoo. There is a boy from Africa who stands in front of the wolf and look at him directly in his one remaining eye. He himself has been through a lat of sad incidents all over the Africa - in yellow, grey, and green ones. What do they see each other's eyes ? How does the wolf change his mind and accept there are something even in this miserable world worth watching with two eyes ? It's a so beautiful and poignant story (and I don't want to spoil your chance to find it^^), worth reading over and over again.

Africa has a story to tell, and so does the wolf he visits every day at the zoo. At first, the wolf is annoyed by Africa's constant visits to his cage. He wonders why he is there and what he is looking for, so he stares back at Africa, challenging him to leave and let the wolf return to his loneliness.

But by looking into each other's eyes, the two are able to understand each other's stories and recognize how their lives relate to one another.

The wolf's story is about the family that he lost-his mother, sisters, and brothers-and how he came to live behind the cage at the zoo as a sacrifice to his sister. Africa's story is about the loss of his family and his life as an orphan, a shepherd, and now finally an adopted boy with a last name. But when told simultaneously, the stories suddenly become about looking for home, about being needed, and about being important and meaningful, no matter where you are.

What a unique storytelling adventure! The meeting between Africa and Blue Wolf is an unfamiliar way to open a story, and the reader is almost tempted to set down the book. But soon enough, Pennac creates an interaction between the two that is magical and enchanting and that leads the reader into two dynamic worlds.

There is an unexpected depth to Africa's existance, and his mystical ways with animals is a brilliant contrast to the very human emotions of Blue Wolf. As Blue Wolf tells his story of daring rescue and escape, he becomes a powerful reminder of all that is beautiful in nature. There was no way to anticipate the manner in which all the characters come together in the end or the final power that Africa and Blue Wolf have upon each other, but it is fascinating, indeed. The language is specific and flows beautifully together as an extension of Africa's famous storytelling abilities.

It must be really strange for a child of immigrants to understand what their parents are feeling about their other country and culture. Some may or may not understand their parents first language. I am eager to share this book with my students and see what they think.

Faraway Home is the story of a young girl whose father must go away to his home land to see his mother. The girl (Desta) isn't very happy about this. The illustrations (by E. B. Lewis) are simply stunning. This is a truly spectacular book

In this beautifully illustrated story, a young girl comes to terms with her immigrant father's plans to visit his country of birth, Ethiopia. In the process, she learns about the differences and similarities between his childhood and hers and, more importantly, about the enduring strength of the love between parent and child. This wonderful book is perfect to share with the child facing similar fears about whether a parent will return from a journey to a distant place or the child perturbed by immigrant parents' longings for an unknown and strange land. For every parent and child, it is a great introduction to a family discussion of "when I was your age, we ..." Highly recommended.

I would like to add my enthusiastic endorsement of Dr. Peter Kennedy's book, "The Fatal Sleep." The goal of this extremely interesting and easy to read narration is "to tell the non-scientist about the history and profound importance of human African trypanosomiasis, aka sleeping sickness." Dr. Kennedy has attained his goal in a way that enlightens both the `Dark Continent' and basic science. The book begins with a description of Kenya at the turn of the millennium and flashes over 30 years back to Peter's life as a young medical student at University College London. What follows is a fantastic telling of the events that led him to Africa - 18 individual times - to establish a research program and conduct research in field stations and to become one of the world's leading clinical scientists not only treating those with the disease, but studying the trypanosome and mentoring medical students to follow in his footsteps. Reading "The Fatal Sleep" is like listening to a story told by a friend who has the time to answer your questions. Like how is life in Africa, what are copper mines, who really was David Livingstone, what is an immune system, why should we be interested in sleeping sickness, and what is the prospect for the future. Peter's command of the (real) English language paints vivid pictures; for example, driving on a rain soaked road that is no more than a memory in the drive's mind. However his description of the African night sky is especially enchanting. Dr. Kennedy's book is well worth the time and his imagery will stay with the reader forever. The Fatal Sleep is a book for all to read, enjoy and find solace that teams of dedicated doctors and scientists are diligently working for the betterment of people suffering from a disease whose cure is often fatal.

Dr. Kennedy's book, The Fatal Sleep, is a wonderful narrative on one of Africa's neglected diseases - African Sleeping Sickness. The disease caused by the free-swimming, single cell parasite called the African trypanosome is also arguably the most deadly of the parasitic diseases that plague humankind, including malaria. Even the treatment used to eradicate the trypanosome once it enters the brain can be fatal.

The book is highly informative and presented in a way that is understandable to the non-medical person. Highly entertaining stories of his experiences from the copper mines of Zambia to the Kenyan/Ugandan highlands and clearly written historical accounts and scientific explanations on the complexities of the parasite's life cycle between the tsetse fly vector and man or animal make this book a joy to read.

I recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with all that is Africa, including the adventure of safari. Physicians, nurses and others in the medical field, not to mention the research scientists who study the disease will also benefit from what this book has to say.

The spectrum of disease in the tropics is quite different from that elsewhere. Some of the diseases are both exotic biologically and important medically. HIV disease is a pertinent example, in which an unusual type of virus, spreading worldwide from Africa, causes an especially cruel (and frequently fatal) disease. A less well known (in the West) example is the "sleeping sickness", or African trypanosomiasis. This disease renders large parts of Africa uninhabitable for both humans and domestic animals. It is a progressive neurological disease, leading always to death in the untreated patient. Treated patients often do not fare much better.

This book is the personal story of the author, a distinguished neurovirologist who became interested in Africa after spending some time there while in medical school. It is part autobiography, part travelogue, part medical and neurologic treatise, all blended together in a harmonious way. The author supplies interesting details about conducting research in an unfamiliar environment and emphasizes the need to support and collaborate with the very considerable scientific talent already present there.

I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it.